Quicken 2001 Deluxe

Intuit's latest release of the popular personal-finance/home-business software breaks new ground in its tighter integration of the Web-based services at Quicken.com, with its hard-drive-based number-crunching software. College-planning calculators, 401(k) advice, and home-purchase calculators all are summoned by a click on a tab in the software--and a swift launch of your Web browser.

"So, what," you say? "I can find those financial calculators anywhere online, not just at Quicken.com"? Well, the best aspect of all of this Web-enabling is the amount of typing that it saves you at the front end. The biggest hurdle to starting with any of these home-finance programs has been that you've got to input the data from your bank statements, checkbook, and ATM slips by hand to get any real sense of your finances. Thanks to the broadened online account- access capability of the new Quicken 2001 Deluxe, and an online bank account, you can download all of that information from your bank, and import it to your Quicken application.

By the same token, you can make transfers and payments over the Internet by using your Quicken software, or export your stock portfolio information to a secure area of Quicken.com, so as to benefit from online stock updates and other investor information.

Intuit also has worked to make Quicken 2001 Deluxe more cohesive internally--you can perform global find-and-replace operations, instead of jumping from file to file, hoping for answers. You can set Quicken to notify you of tax deadlines and upcoming bills, as well as when the software itself is about to need updating. It's also a little easier to set up the program to track those transactions of yours that are tax-deductible.

This version for Macintosh is not perfect, by any means, although it's closer to its PC counterpart in terms of functionality. Mac users now get preset access to more banks than in previous versions, but not as many as would make online banking setup a breeze. To take advantage of the new online/offline leverage that Quicken 2001 Deluxe promises, it's best to have a fast connection to the Internet, and be at peace with the fact that some amount of real-world setup still is necessary to make this software sing online. --Elizabeth Aoki

Amazon.com Product Description
Quicken 2001 Deluxe helps you better manage the seven key areas of your finances: banking, investing, taxes, planning, spending and saving, loans, and insurance. It's packed with powerful features and enhancements across the seven areas to help you see the complete picture of your finances. Global Find and Replace helps you find transactions quickly, and the program automatically checks for new software patches any time you're connected to the Web.

Write checks, print checks, or even send payments online. Schedule payments and receive proactive reminders for when they're due. Bank online conveniently, downloading your data from the Web. Access your account balances, transfer funds, and pay bills. Quicken works with over 1,200 banks, credit card and brokerage companies.

See where it all goes with reports and graphs--get quick and easy answers to questions about your spending, budget, net worth, and more, and then create a budget you can realistically follow. Track your investments and then compare them, downloading prices on stocks and mutual funds right from the Web.

Note: Online features require Internet access and are subject to change. Additional fees may apply for online banking and bill payment. Services vary among financial institutions and are subject to their terms and conditions. $20.00 mail-in rebate for upgrade customers only.

BUT -- I've run into some fatal errors in attempting to use my 2001 Deluxe for Macintosh. Essentially, I have been completely unable to produce any kind of a report whatsoever. As you can imagine, after entering months worth of data, being unable to analyze that data in any way leaves the program virtually worthless.

I spent many hours trying to track down the problem. Every time I tried to create a report, the program crashed, and I received a Type 1 error message. I added 128 MG of memory to my G3 (for a total of 160 MG), but still the program crashed. I downloaded the Quicken Deluxe for Macintosh Release 2 update and installed it. Still the program crashed.

If you call to try to speak with a real live person, Intuit will charge you $2.00 per minute. Refusing to throw good money after bad trying to fix their problem, I went to the Help files on the website again, and after several hours I found a Q&A explaining that an Error Type 1 may occur when attempting to create reports if you are using an HP DeskWriter printer driver, version 6.0.4.

Guess what? I've got an HP DeskWriter 6.0.4.

So I tried disabling the driver, but the program still crashed anyway. I finally gave up and spent an entire Saturday retyping in six months of data from my Macintosh into my old Quicken 6 for Windows. Now I'm using my old Quicken program, and I wish I'd never tried to upgrade.

Anyway, I'm giving them an extra star because they did finally come through with the rebate. Now we'll see whether they'll refund the rest of my money.